thedrifter
06-19-07, 06:24 AM
GIs can't get a break
June 19, 2007
BY GREGG ZOROYA
WASHINGTON -- U.S. commanders in Iraq are rejecting a recommendation by Army mental health experts that troops receive a one-month break for every three months in a combat zone, despite unprecedented levels of continuous fighting.
Instead, commanders are trying to give troops two to three days inside heavily fortified bases after about eight days in the field, said Brig. Gen. Joseph Anderson, chief aide to the ground forces commander in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno.
''We would never get the job done of securing [Baghdad] if we went out for three months and came back'' for one, Anderson said.
U.S. forces in Iraq spend more time in continuous combat without a break than those who fought in Vietnam and World War II, according to Army psychologists.
U.S. commanders can't match the World War II policy, Odierno said last month.
''Even in World War II and other times . .. we would pull forces off the line and bring them back on. Here we don't do that,'' Odierno said. ''They are out there consistently every single day. So you have to be mentally and physically tough.''
Army psychologists say continual combat may cause more mental health problems.
Their research, conducted in Iraq last year, shows that 30 percent of soldiers and Marines experiencing high levels of combat demonstrate signs of anxiety, depression or acute stress.
Army Spc. Jeremy Osborn, 27, who finished 14 months in Iraq in February, said more breaks would relieve stress.
''The body and mind need to take a break from always being on guard,'' he said.
''Never knowing when we were going to get attacked again was quite stressful.''
Meanwhile, U.S. and Iraqi forces launched attacks on Baghdad's northern and southern flanks to clear out Sunni insurgents, al-Qaida fighters and Shiite militiamen who have fled the capital and Anbar province during a four-month-old security operation, military officials said Monday.
Gannett News Service
Ellie
June 19, 2007
BY GREGG ZOROYA
WASHINGTON -- U.S. commanders in Iraq are rejecting a recommendation by Army mental health experts that troops receive a one-month break for every three months in a combat zone, despite unprecedented levels of continuous fighting.
Instead, commanders are trying to give troops two to three days inside heavily fortified bases after about eight days in the field, said Brig. Gen. Joseph Anderson, chief aide to the ground forces commander in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno.
''We would never get the job done of securing [Baghdad] if we went out for three months and came back'' for one, Anderson said.
U.S. forces in Iraq spend more time in continuous combat without a break than those who fought in Vietnam and World War II, according to Army psychologists.
U.S. commanders can't match the World War II policy, Odierno said last month.
''Even in World War II and other times . .. we would pull forces off the line and bring them back on. Here we don't do that,'' Odierno said. ''They are out there consistently every single day. So you have to be mentally and physically tough.''
Army psychologists say continual combat may cause more mental health problems.
Their research, conducted in Iraq last year, shows that 30 percent of soldiers and Marines experiencing high levels of combat demonstrate signs of anxiety, depression or acute stress.
Army Spc. Jeremy Osborn, 27, who finished 14 months in Iraq in February, said more breaks would relieve stress.
''The body and mind need to take a break from always being on guard,'' he said.
''Never knowing when we were going to get attacked again was quite stressful.''
Meanwhile, U.S. and Iraqi forces launched attacks on Baghdad's northern and southern flanks to clear out Sunni insurgents, al-Qaida fighters and Shiite militiamen who have fled the capital and Anbar province during a four-month-old security operation, military officials said Monday.
Gannett News Service
Ellie